H21. The 3D’s of Hifdh Success

Memorizing the Qur’an is a journey like no other. It tests your willpower, your reliance and trust in Allah, your standards, and your determination. It is a journey that will not only change your life, but will change your heart if you let it. The Qur’an is a huge blessing and responsibility. Those who strive to memorize it will be put through tests and trials in order to be taught the lessons that Allah is teaching, for although we have Qur’an teachers, Allah is the One who truly teaches us through the Qur’an.

http://muslimmatters.org/2013/10/14/3-ds-hifth-success/
When you decide to embark on any journey that will change your life for the better, bring you closer to Allah and His words, help you to leave sins, identify and improve your faults and weaknesses, accumulate good deeds, and hopefully help you enter Jannah, Shaytan freaks out and does everything he can to prevent you from taking action. He will do whatever it takes to mess you up, demotivate you, make you feel you’re not good enough or that you can’t accomplish your goals, and it will be a constant struggle. Everyone packs things that they need before going on a journey, and most people never forget to pack what they will need most. There are countless things a person needs on their journey of memorizing the Qur’an, and I believe that most of these things fall under three main categories…something I like to call “The 3 Ds of Hifth Success”.
The “3 Ds of Hifth Success” are things that you cannot do without as you strive to memorize the Book of Allah. While you are fighting yourself and fighting Shaytan, if you can stay strong and use the below points, the Qur’an is above any of these obstacles and will be the greatest thing you’ve ever had in your life.

1. Du‘ā’
The first and most important “D” is du‘ā’. It is the key to everything. You need it before you start your journey to beg Allah to help purify your intentions. You need it throughout your journey…when you are down and need help, when you are up and need to be grateful, when you think you can’t go on and feel like giving up, to ask for barakah in time and your memory, to seek forgiveness for sins that will prevent the Qur’an from entering your heart…. you need this “D” for everything!
Shaykh Mohammad Faqih once mentioned something that I am always reminded of. He said, “You know those people who you look at them, and everything just seems to work out for them? They set goals and accomplish them and everything just seems very smooth for them? Whatever situation they are in it always turns out well for them. What is it about those people? What is the secret that makes their lives like that? The answer is du‘ā’. That’s the key ingredient that makes all the difference in the world.”
When listening to advice that people give about memorizing the Qur’an, the number one thing it always comes back to is making du‘ā’. There are times when you think you won’t be able to continue, and that maybe your journey will end without completing your hifth. But through du‘ā’ Allah can make a way for you to continue when you never thought it would work out. There will be times when you have a big test and the amount of work you have to do versus the amount of time you have is a recipe for failure, but through du‘ā’, somehow you will be able to do it. There will be times when you are convinced that your intentions are not pure and you will become depressed and unmotivated but Allah can help you through it.
Those who are memorizing the Qur’an may struggle with commitments, responsibilities, family, and balancing life with memorizing and retaining the Qur’an. Du‘ā’ is what makes it all work somehow. When you have a million things to do and just not enough hours in the day and you make du‘ā’ for Allah to put barakah in your time, you’ll often find that somehow you are able to finish your new memorization or review in a short amount of time. The journey of memorizing the Qur’an is of the most blessed journeys one can embark on, and it is a goal that without a doubt will not be reached without du‘ā’!

2. Determination (Also known as, “Don’t give me excuses, give me results!”)
Sure, you may get extremely busy one day, be exhausted another day, have a large gathering to go to one day, be travelling another day…you may have a valid excuse to not do any Qur’an one day, but if you have absolute determination and really want to make it work, you will make a way to do it no matter what…hands down, end of story. You may feel that you are too busy or that you have a genuinely valid excuse, but beware of Shaytan who may make you feel like your excuses are good enough to keep you from the Qur’an. It also could be your way of enabling your own feelings of laziness. To move past this, you have to wage war on yourself and have a “Kapow!” attitude with yourself. Show your nafs who is boss. When you’re motivated and determined you are able to push through obstacles that come your way and stay consistent, all with the help of the first “D” of course.

3. Deadlines
In order to accomplish almost anything, you need goals. They are what keep the bigger picture in sight, keep you working, and keep you motivated. Along with goals and deadlines, you need the second “D” to help you reach those goals. They keep you focused, help you to stay on track, and help you not to get lazy. Countless articles have been written and lectures have been given on how to set goals in memorizing the Qur’an, how many pages to do a day and how much review to do. Working with a teacher to figure out a schedule that works out for you is part of the process.
“The 3 Ds of Hifth Success” are crucial things that you need while memorizing the Qur’an. Not only will it help you to know them from the beginning, but often times you will find that you need to be reminded of them countless times throughout your journey. The Qur’an is not only a living miracle, but it is our living miracle. It contains stories for us to learn from, examples to follow, answers to our questions, warnings to heed, blessings to recognize, ayahs of hope to get us through tough times, and barakah to flood our lives with and change our hearts. All we have to do is take the first steps and answer Allah’s question for us in the Qur’an, “We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember it?”